Freight car



Oct. 12, 1937. c, D, YQUNG 2,095,624

FREIGHT CAR Filed May 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NV EN TOR 5 ORNEYS.

Oct. 12, 1937. c, YOUNG 2,095,624

FREIGHT CAR Filed May 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. I.

' b h f WITNESSES: 6h i fgfl y 7d ar 55 0 553 BY 1/ ORNEYS.

C. D. YOUNG Oct. 12, 1937.

FREIGHT CAR Filed May 28, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 WITNESSES: @flwm Za Patented Oct. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREIGHT can Charles D. Young, Haveriord, Pa.

Application May 28, 1936, Serial No. 82,231

2 Claims.

This invention relates to freight cars, and more particularly to railway hopper cars, to the construction of the body bolsters thereof and to a novel manner of mounting brake operating mechanism on a bolster.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved form of body bolster having shelves cast or welded integrally therewith and serving to constitute the sole supports for attachment of brake operating mechanism suchas cylinders, reservoirs, and valves.

Another object of the invention is to provide greater protection for the brake parts and eliminate breakage of pipes and connections due to i vibration, and this end is accomplished by mounting such parts as the brake cylinder, reservoir, valves, and the like, directly upon the bolster, in lieu of the customary arrangement in hopper cars wherein these parts are mounted at various locations and frequently not .afiorded adequate protection against injury.

Inasmuch as it is highly important that brake operating mechanism shall operate satisfactorily under all conditions of service and emergency, 3 there is special advantage in mounting such parts upon the body bolster, which is one of the strongest members of the car frame. There is further advantage in having all of the brake parts mounted upon a single one piece casting or on a welded integral structure, for the brake parts are interconnected by pipe lines, and there is less danger of undue stress being placed upon any of the parts or pipe lines where all of the supports form an integral part of a single member'of the car frame. as distinguished from the customary method of mounting such brake parts upon relatively weak struts or brackets at various locations at the car end. v

Still other objects and advantages characterizing the invention will be evident from the detailed description which is hereinafter set forth of one embodiment or example of the invention,

having reference to the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

i Fig. I represents a side elevation of one endoi' I a hopper car embodying the invention.

Fig. II represents an end elevation of the same.

Fig. III represents an enlarged plan view of the body bolster.

I Fig. IV represents a front elevation of the body bolster.

Fig. V represents an end view of the body bolster showing certain of the brake parts in dot-anddash lines; and,

L Fig. VI represents a cross section, taken as incheated by the lines VI-VI of Fig. IV, showing certain of the brake parts in dot-and-dash lines. The railway car illustrated in the drawings is of the hopper type and is adapted for the carriage of cement. It will be understood, however, 5 that the invention is applicable to many different forms of cars. and that the type indicated is merely representative of one adaptation of the invention. Only one end of the car is shown,-and it may be assumed that there is substantial identity between the general features of construction at each end of the car.

A conventional form of center sill is represented at i, and the body bolster is represented at 2. It will be observed that the bolster follows generally the construction described in U. S. Letters Patent to William F. Kiesel, Jr., No. 1,825,234, granted September 29, 1921. The bolster 2 is inclined substantially at right angles to the plane of the slope floor 3 of the end hopper and is secured at its ends to stakes 4 which follow the same angle of inclination. The inclined stakes 4, together with top rails 5, bottom rails 6, and vertical stakes 1, form trusses at each side of the car. The side walls 8 and hoppers of the car are embraced within the side trusses. At the top of the car, filling hatches 9 are provided. At the end of the car the usual side step ii and side ladder. l2 are attached to the end framework. Also, the usual hand brake I3 is disposed at the car end and has therebeneath a brake step l4 accessible by means of the ladder I2.

As clearly shown in Figs. I and II, the construction of the car end framework beyond the areas embraced between the side trusses includes a number of relatively light angle bars such as the comer posts IS, the end sills 16, andside sills ll. This customary light construction of the car end framework constitutes one of the important factors requiring special protection for the brake mechanism hereinafter described. It will be apparent that unless such brake mechanism is supported upon one of the strongermembers of the car frame, and positioned at a distance from the end sill 16, it may readily be damaged in the event of collision or severe impact against the relatively weak end framework of the car. I

In Figs. III and IV the construction of the body bolster 2 is illustrated in detail. As there shown the body bolster is in the form of a truss and comprises generally a top chord l8, which is adapted to abut against the slope floor 3 of the end hopper; a bottom chord l9 which is adapted to be secured rigidly to flanges 2| near the bottom of the center sill I of which the flanges 2| are a part, and web members 22, 23, 24 connecting the top and bottom chords. The body bolster constitutes a one piece casting and has formed integrally therewith at its ends wing members 25 which are riveted to the inclined stakes 4.

Formed integrally with the body bolster are horizontally projecting ledges in the form of shelves 26, 21, 28, 29. This integral formation may be accomplished either by casting or welding, both of which are included in the term formed. The shelves 26, 21 desirably lie in the same horizontal plane and bridge the space between the vertical web members 23 and the diagonal web members 24, one shelf 26 being at one side of the center sill l and the other shelf 21 being at the opposite side of the center sill. The additional shelves 28, 29 lie in a horizontal plane above that of the first mentioned pair. The shelf 26, in the illustrated example, supports a brake cylinder 3|. The shelf 21 supports a brake valve 32,-and the shelves 28, 29 support the opposite ends of a reservoir 33.

As shown most clearly in Figs. V and VI, the lower shelves 26, 21 are braced by integrally\ formed pedestals 34, 35, and the upper shelves 28, 29 are likewise braced and supported at their outer ends by integrally formed pedestals 36, 31. The shelves 26, 21, 28, 29 are thus arranged in a stepped formation which permits a convenient grouping of the brake parts in close proximity to each other and in a relatively small space. Desirably the shelves 26, 21, 28, 29 are provided with pads 38, 39 conveniently formed for the insertion of securing bolts by means of which the brake parts may be directly attached to the bolster.

It may be assumed that the brake cylinder 3| is actuated by the hand brake l3 in the customary manner. It may also be assumed that a conventional form of brake pipe is employed. Such details and others have been omitted from the drawings in order to illustrate other parts of the car more clearly. Certain of the pipe connections associated with the brake cylinder 3|, the valve 5 32, and the reservoir 33 are shown at 4|, 42, 43, 44.

It will be apparent that the direct attachment of the brake parts 3 l, '32, 33 upon the body bolster 2 serves not only to shelter these parts and to maintain them at a considerable distance from the end of the car, but serves also to guard these parts and the interconnecting pipe lines against injury resulting from severe impact of objects against the end of the car. Moreover, the formation of integral shelves providing sole support for the brake parts upon the body bolster 2 renders it unnecessary to provide any additional brackets, struts, or other forms of support, and greatly facilitates the manufacture and assembly of the car.

While there has been described one specific example of an embodiment of this invention in a railway hopper car, it will be apparent that various modifications may be had in the form of the bolster and the shelves thereon, and it will also be apparent that the principle of the invention may be applied to many different forms of brake parts, and that the invention is not so much concerned with the number, type and location of the brake parts as it is with the manner of mounting them upon the bolster which affords a solid foundation and thus eliminates vibrating stresses on brake pipes and connections.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a railway hopper car having an end slope sheet and a plurality of interconnected brake parts disposed beneath said slope sheet, a body .bolster extending in a plane at an angle to said slope sheet to support the same, and having shelves formed integrally therewith, said shelves projecting horizontally from the bolster and toward the end of the car, and serving as the sole support for the attachment of said brake parts.

2. In a railway hopper car having an end slope sheet and a plurality of interconnected brake parts disposed beneath said slope sheet, a body bolster extending in a plane at an angle with said slope sheet, and having shelves formed integrally therewith, said shelves projecting substantially horizontally from the bolster and toward the end of the car, and serving as the sole support for the attachment of said brake parts.

CHARLES D. YOUNG. 

